Last year saw Russ Yallop, Crosstown Rebels’ latest signing, join the ever-growing throng of great UK based, nu-school house acts currently breaking through the global underground. His debut release with the Crosstown family, ‘I Can’t Wait’, sparked hype amongst the most well-versed house heads in the scene (from Jamie Jones to MANDY) and sent dance floors into a spin with its energetic, charming sound.

Set to take The Nest by storm this Saturday alongside the Make Me DJs, we had a quick chat with Crosstown Rebels’ latest recruit. With a release on Crosstown’s label offshoot, Rebellion, that dropped last week, Russ take the simple standpoint, “buy my music if you like it, don’t if you don’t”.

Tickets and more information for this Saturday are available here

The Nest: You’ve mentioned in previous interviews your love for sinister, darkly sexy basslines that provoke that instinctive “party frown”. Is this more appealing to you as a party-goer and a DJ than more jump up, bouncy beats that induce hand flailing, hugging and jumping in the rave? Do you find something deeper in the juxtaposition between an ominous bassline and a jaunty melody?

Russ Yallop: To be honest, absolutely not. In my eyes there really is only two types of music; good and bad.  I like any kind of good music, from dark and sinister to playful and bouncy… as long as it’s a good tune I’ll like it.  The mood, the vibe, and the style of a tune dictates when and where I play it within a set.  But within a set there can be a whole range of music with different vibes.  Typically a set could start off bouncier and get a bit meaner as it progresses, though all depends on many factors, most relating to the best approach to the crowd you’re playing for.

TN: Do you have any classical training or knowledge of music theory? If not, in a time where melody is at the forefront of house productions and people tend not to simply work around a rhythmic structure, do you think such training would help you in the studio?.. Or is the act of producing more instinctive for you?

RY: I don’t have actual musical theory training but I suppose I have a fair amount of self-training.  Before I started production I read loads of music theory books to ground myself with the basics.  Though music theory doesn’t really play much of a role in the production process for me as when it comes to music there really are no rules, if it sounds good then by definition it works.  My head is always awash with new melodies so training such as piano lessons would help me transfer what I have in my head to the computer quicker, sure.  But the technology is there to get to the melody you’re after, you just need one finger and a mouse.

When talking about this it’s important to separate composing and production, which mostly just get called production.  Composing is completely instinctive, you don’t need any training to compose a strong melody. But to produce a whole track from a melody using technology like electronic music does, takes lots and lots of training and lots of theory.  Though, like anything, you can self-train as I did (I never went to music college, though I wish I had and probably should have, I’d have made the journey from beginner to pro a whole lot quicker!)

TN: If you could live anywhere in the world, producing and playing out in the country’s biggest clubs where would it be?

RY: I suppose my ideal living arrangement would be living in London in the winter and Ibiza in the summer. Though if someone offered me that situation now I’d turn it down as I need to do so much work over the next few years and living in Ibiza is definitely not conducive to getting stuff done!

TN: The Crossroads is out this week on the Rebellion imprint, why should we buy it?

RY: Well if you like it you should buy it, if you don’t, don’t.  Sorry can’t really say more than that – I don’t want to hard sell my tunes!  My best advice would be, if you haven’t heard it, give it a listen as it seems to be a popular track at the moment.

TN: Can we expect your name and work on any exciting Crosstown Rebels collaborations this year?

RY: I definitely plan to release more stuff on Crosstown Rebels, though whether it’ll be this year I can’t confirm with absolute certainty as we’re in May already and labels like Crosstown have an enormous queue of finished tunes awaiting release.  I will be releasing again with them for sure though.

TN: Festival season and Ibiza summer are upon us, what shows are you most excited about playing?

RY: Any that I’m booked for! Currently fixing dates at the moment. I have a gig at Space in July which came in last week which I’m looking forward to plus will be at Sonar this year which will no doubt be amazing too.

TN: Do you have any studio rituals you have to act through before the magic starts happening? Five coffees, a snickers and a post-00:00 reading on the clock perhaps…

RY: I suppose the one ritual that is invaluable, though often not possible, is putting the phone on silent. When I really need to concentrate, say at the start of a track where you are composing ideas, I lock myself away from the world, phone away and even switch my internet off so I don’t get distracted by emails etc.  This is usually in the morning as most of my friends don’t get up too early!

Russ Yallop ‘The Crossroads’ on Rebellion is out now on vinyl only